to move, especially alternately in opposite directions: to wave the hand.

to signal to by waving a flag or the like; direct by a waving movement: to wave a train to a halt; to wave traffic around an obstacle.

to signify or express by a waving movement: to wave a last goodbye.

Idioms

make waves, Informal. to disturb the status quo; cause trouble, as by questioning or resisting the accepted rules, procedures, etc.: The best way to stay out of trouble at the office is not to make waves.

Origin of wave

1325–75;Middle Englishwaven (v.), Old Englishwafian to wave the hands; cognate with Middle High Germanwaben; cf. waver1

Synonyms for wave

1. undulation, whitecap. Wave,ripple,breaker,surf refer to a ridge or swell on the surface of water. Wave is the general word: waves in a high wind. A ripple is the smallest kind of wave, such as is caused by a stone thrown into a pool: ripples in a brook. A breaker is a wave breaking, or about to break, upon the shore or upon rocks: the roar of breakers.Surf is the collective name for breakers: Heavy surf makes bathing dangerous.14. undulate, flutter, float, sway, rock; fluctuate.

wave

verb

to move or cause to move freely to and frothe banner waved in the wind

(intr)to move the hand to and fro as a greeting

to signal or signify by or as if by waving something

(tr)to direct to move by or as if by waving somethinghe waved me on

to form or be formed into curves, undulations, etc

(tr)to give a wavy or watered appearance to (silk, etc)

(tr)to set waves in (the hair)

noun

one of a sequence of ridges or undulations that moves across the surface of a body of a liquid, esp the sea: created by the wind or a moving object and gravity

any undulation on or at the edge of a surface reminiscent of such a wavea wave across the field of corn

the wavesthe sea

anything that suggests the movement of a wave, as by a sudden risea crime wave

a widespread movement that advances in a bodya wave of settlers swept into the country

the act or an instance of waving

physicsan oscillation propagated through a medium or space such that energy is periodically interchanged between two kinds of disturbance. For example, an oscillating electric field generates a magnetic oscillation and vice versa, hence an electromagnetic wave is produced. Similarly a wave on a liquid comprises vertical and horizontal displacementsSee also antinode, longitudinal wave, node, standing wave, transverse wave

physicsa graphical representation of a wave obtained by plotting the magnitude of the disturbance against time at a particular point in the medium or space; waveform

wave

v.

"move back and forth," Old English wafian "to wave with the hands" (related to wæfre "wavering, restless"), from Proto-Germanic *wab- (cf. Old Norse vafra "to hover about," Middle High German waben "to wave, undulate"), possibly from PIE root *webh- "to move to and fro; to weave" (see weave (v.)). Meaning "to make a sign by a wave of the hand" is from 1510s. Related: Waved; waving.

I was much further out than you thoughtAnd not waving but drowning.[Stevie Smith]

wave

n.

"moving billow of water," 1520s, from wave (v.), replacing Middle English waw, which is from Old English wagian "to move to and fro" (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German wag, Old Frisian weg, Old Norse vagr "water in motion, wave, billow," Gothic wegs "tempest;" see wag (v.)). The usual Old English word for "moving billow of water" was yð.

The "hand motion" meaning is recorded from 1680s; meaning "undulating line" is recorded from 1660s. Of people in masses, first recorded 1852; in physics, from 1832. Sense in heat wave is from 1843. The crowd stunt in stadiums is attested under this name from 1984, the thing itself said to have been done first Oct. 15, 1981, at the Yankees-A's AL championship series game in the Oakland Coliseum; soon picked up and popularized at University of Washington. To make waves "cause trouble" is attested from 1962.

wave

[wāv]

A disturbance, oscillation, or vibration, either of a medium and moving through that medium (such as water and sound waves), or of some quantity with different values at different points in space, moving through space (such as electromagnetic waves or a quantum mechanical wave described by the wave function). See also longitudinal wavetransverse wavewave function. See Note at refraction.

wave

In physics, any regularly recurring event, such as surf coming in toward a beach, that can be thought of as a disturbance moving through a medium. Waves are characterized by wavelength, frequency, and the speed at which they move. Waves are found in many forms.

Note

The motion of a wave and the motion of the medium on which the wave moves are not the same: ocean waves, for example, move toward the beach, but the water itself merely moves up and down. Sound waves are spread by alternating compression and expansion of air.